serenity funeral home grand bank obituaries

However, injuries plagued him and he eventually gave up his Olympic dreams. There, he found a cohort of running companions and mentors. The early years of Jim and Helen’s marriage were spent in Snohomish, WA, where Jim taught at the junior high school and trained to run marathons. It was Holly, the baby of the family, who gave Jim and Helen their precious grandchildren, Elise, Thereon, Quinnlan, and Caeden.Īfter graduating from Western Washington State College in 1964, Jim started his career as a teacher. He finally got some sons when his daughters brought their partners into the family: Bjorn, Donatas, and Michael. Jim and Helen married young, in August 1962 and soon grew their family to include three daughters, Kirsten, Lotte, and Holly. He continued loving and wooing her to the very end, Thanks to her influence, he stopped being one of those kids who pitched pennies at the back of the classroom, and started studying. Jim always said that Helen saved him, since she had high standards and he wanted to be worthy of her. That cute girl was Helen Jonson, and pretty soon he was wooing her as only a thirteen-year-old boy can, saving her a seat on the berry bus and trying to impress her. He was instantly smitten, and he just knew deep down in his heart that she was “the one.” He always said it was as if an angel picked him up and transported him before he knew it, he was right next to her, picking berries into her flat. He had never been even remotely interested in girls before, but when he saw her, it was like a lightning bolt.

One day, as he was picking strawberries in the summer, he spied a cute girl a few rows over. Jim met the love of his life when he was just thirteen years old. He grew up near Ferndale, WA, and graduated from Ferndale High School in 1960. When his mother remarried, he became a Freeman and gained new brothers and sisters, Judy, Barry, and Peggy, and eventually became a big brother to Ray and Joe. He leaves behind his wife of sixty years, Helen, his loving family, and a community where he influenced many lives through his exemplary career as a teacher and coach.īorn on Jin Hamilton, Ontario, Jim moved west with his mother when he was five years old. On November 28, 2022, Jim Freeman passed away while walking on the land that he loved so much.

Serenity funeral home grand bank obituaries